LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Position Raised by Azora Capital LP

Azora Capital LP grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 326,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,648 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial accounts for about 6.4% of Azora Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Azora Capital LP’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $74,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $2,407,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 89.0% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 774,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,245,000 after purchasing an additional 364,597 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $270,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $2,780,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LPLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.20.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $280.06. 407,708 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 483,105. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $269.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $20.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.89. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.59 and a fifty-two week high of $287.80.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.68 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 55.22% and a net margin of 9.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

LPL Financial Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.